[Closed] Sick as a dog so, show me you Bivi / Bikepacking / Adventure racing gear.....

[url= http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/clothing/shoes/product/x-alp-enduro-ii-shoes-10-37441 ]Pearl Izumi Alp-X[/url] are great. Fairly stiff sole (especially the higher-end ones) and they allow your toes to flex for hike-a-bike "fun". I imported the "PRO" version with the stiffest (carbon) sole & they're ace, but sadly unavailable over here.

5:10s but I'm the odd one out 😉

Spesh sport mtb.
Can't stand spesh as a company but they do make some good shoes, i have a pair on order as i type. Nearly £30 off at cyclesurgery this week, too good an offer to refuse. This will be my third pair even though my last ones aren't worn out yet.

beware of specialized shoes if you have narrow feet, they run wide, as I have found out. I've been advised to try sidis next time.

It was snug 🙂
[img] [/img]

This was funnier though. Not proper lightweight tarping but an epic night in a wet field. I was woken in the night by the sound of the rocks moving about in the river - in the morning all you could hear was the roar of the water. We nearly couldn't drive out of the valley. It was the sort of morning where you'd think "I'm glad I wasn't in a tent last night" and we'd spent the night under a flimsy piece of waterproof fabric.

Need more times like that 🙂

Anyone out for Bivi action this weekned?

Me Me Me! ... but I can't tell you where 😉

Come on.... Think its best you just let me know so it can help with my planning, I wont tell anyone 😉

Hoping to get out on Saturday PM running into Sunday - though somewhat impromptu. Was thinking of going to do the Epynt Way. Whilst do-able in a day from Brecon (92km), I thought more fun to go out and bivi halfway around.

I was looking at that on the map just last night ... is it good?, map would indicate some interesting parts. Not technical perhaps but some nice riding.

Not done it before, so don't know. I looked along one section of track yesterday and thought it looked nice - hence the impromptu arrangement. Not that technical I don't think, though a few bridleway sections will be across proper open hill which could be interesting. Difficult to judge off the map though, as some of the route is along tracks not otherwise marked on an OS Landranger.

supposed to be doing a Dothie valley night ride tomorrow eve, thinking I may pack my bivvy gear and make a proper night of it, good chance to test kit out 😉

Does anyone carry a water filter/purifier?

I think flatfish mentioned something earlier in the thead about using one

didnothingfatal - Member

Does anyone carry a water filter/purifier?

Yep, but if it's remote and high you don't need one really. However if your filling your water bottle from horse troughs then they make sense.

Travel Tap from BPL

I normally carry a steripen, and the filter it comes with. Just see a lot of talk about backpacking but not much mention of water supplies, and wondered what people are doing.

I was wondering about coffee filters 🙂

Lyons Coffee bags, best coffee option for camping 🙂

Stu, How did you get on??

The Eppynt Way and Eppynt area in general is a bog.

Lyons Coffee bags, best coffee option for camping

I don't think so laddie! Sainsbury's Colombian Coffee bags are a zillion kilometres better. The Lyons ones make something akin to insipid babies' bathwater 😉

But, obviously, the best kind of camping out coffee is Lavazza and.....

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The Eppynt Way and Eppynt area in general is a bog.

On numerous occasions the waymarking posts said "Keep to the Path".
There was no path to speak of.

didnothingfatal - Member

............. Just see a lot of talk about backpacking but not much mention of water supplies, and wondered what people are doing.

Drinking the pure highland spring water - commonly known as the river

Just found this if anyone wants a read...
http://www.alpkit.com/daring-deeds/welsh-ride-thing-part-1

But, obviously, the best kind of camping out coffee is Lavazza and.....

that's just getting too organised 😯

it's all about the little luxuries after all* 😉

*weight dependant of course

Oh God, it never bloody stops! I spent the afternoon humiliating myself by begging smokers at work to lend me their lighters so I could test my latest micro energy-drink-can meths stoves (could do much better, probably won't), and then someone's only gone and posted this link up on outdoorsmagic.com...

[url] http://jwbasecamp.com/Articles/Fire-Bucket/index.html [/url]

Looks good though 🙂

BTW, ordered a Snugpak Softie 1 and a Snowpeak Ti 450ml mug from Taunton Leisure today in their sale (with an extra £10 off voucher to boot) 🙂

Saved a bomb on stuff I don't really need.

that's a great link slugwask makes me want to get building allsorts 😉

Which bivi bag would you guys recommend? Rab survival zone or alpkit hunka?

Alpkit Hunka is a favoured one I believe 😉

I think the Rab might be a bit longer unless Alpkit have changed their sizing / offered up a long version.

AlpKit do an XL Hunka ... big enough for big lads 😉

cheeky 😯

I mentioned no names 😉

Can I just but in and ask about down sleeping bags ?

I had planned to use a Hunka together with a Pipedream 400 for 2/3 season use but as the Pipedreams are on loooong back order is there an equivalent bag in that price/performance range (I'm looking for sub 1kg and below £200)

Hilldodger, this might just fit the bill. Rated to zero, 800g and under £200.

http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/rab_alpine_200_down_sleeping_bag.html

Can I just but in and ask about down sleeping bags ?

Check out the bargain PHD Minim 300 & 500 on the link below ....

[url] http://www.phdesigns.co.uk/special-offers.php?cat=79 [/url]

Here the same one as s8tan's but £21 cheaper

http://www.towerridge.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_23&products_id=574

Got my new tent yesterday, tarptent scarp 1, lovely and light it is too, just a fraction under 1.5kg and massive inside (for a one man tent quite small for a cathedral). Unfortunately I got the pack size wrong, its there on the website clear as day 20 inches long, but for some reason that got converted into 20cm in my tiny confused brain 🙁 So I am not sure how I am going to fit it onto my bike.

On the plus side I also got my tangle bag from revelate, its the road/touring version and just fits in my mountain bike frame (hurrah), which I wasn't sure it would, so that's a relief.

Strap it to the bars.

Yep, that was my plan, but the length makes it a awkward, and it has carbon end poles (fixed in place) so I am a little concerned about how tight I could pull the straps. My old tent I used to stick in an alpkit airlock extra dry bag, the strap point made it nice and easy, the shape of this tent when packed just makes it more difficult.
Maybe one of the revelate slings is the answer, just not something I had been planning on purchasing.

Thanks for the links guys 😀

MSP - Member
Yep, that was my plan, but the length makes it a awkward, and it has carbon end poles (fixed in place) so I am a little concerned about how tight I could pull the straps. My old tent I used to stick in an alpkit airlock extra dry bag, the strap point made it nice and easy, the shape of this tent when packed just makes it more difficult.
Maybe one of the revelate slings is the answer, just not something I had been planning on purchasing.

The Revelate Sling requires you to crank down the straps as it's for carrying drybags. So if you have concerns about pulling down straps the sling may not be that different.

@MSP I guess the only answer maybe a rear rack and have the tent sticking out the back??

Sent my entry for WRT off today so going to get into this bike bivving big styley 😯

Get plenty of practice in before the big weekend though daddy. 😉